Elliott Comes to the Rescue after Halak Is Hurt as Blues Win

Elliott Comes to the Rescue after Halak Is Hurt as Blues Win

Article excerpt

ST. PAUL, Minn. The Blues made a big splash with the trade for
Calgary defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, but with every wave there is a
strong undertow, and Monday night it was a 4-1 victory over
Minnesota.

The Wild were 8-1 in their last nine games entering Monday's
meeting with the Blues and goaltender Niklas Backstrom was riding a
career-high eight-game winning streak. But the Blues solved
Backstrom for four goals on 24 shots and knocked off the No. 3-
ranked team in the Western Conference standings.

"Our first two periods were excellent," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock
said. "All in all, it's a good road win."

The Blues snapped their own three-game losing streak, and after
returning home for a day of practice will head back on the road to
face Chicago.

Jaden Schwartz, Andy McDonald, Kevin Shattenkirk and Barret
Jackman each scored for the Blues, who lost goaltender Jaroslav
Halak to injury but received a solid bounce-back effort by Brian
Elliott. Elliott made 20 saves for his fourth victory off the
season, his first since a 4-1 win over Columbus on Jan. 31.

"Obviously you don't want to see a teammate go down," Elliott
said. "Jaro is a big part of our team. We hope for a quick
recovery."

Entering a stretch in which the Blues will play six of their next
seven games on the road, Monday's game against Minnesota was seen as
a difficult kickoff. The Blues knocked off Minnesota 5-4 in overtime
back in January, but the clubs have gone in different directions
since then, with the Wild winning 15 of their last 20 games.

But 12 minutes into the game, Schwartz made a heads-up play to
put the Blues in front. He denied a Wild attempt to clear the zone
and skated into the slot before putting a wrist shot past Backstrom
for his fourth goal of the season.

"I was just coming off the bench and they turned it over," said
Schwartz, who had a goal and an assist. "I was actually looking to
pass, but they ended up giving me more space, I shot it and it ended
up going in."

The Blues had 1-0 lead when Halak went down to block a shot by
Minnesota's Jared Spurgeon with 11 seconds remaining in the first
period. He left with a groin injury and afterward Hitchcock said,
"Unfortunately, it looks like it's going to be a little while. …

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